US News The State Department will pay employees who alleged they suffer from ‘Havana Syndrne’ six-figure payouts. State is making the payments in accordance with the HAVANA Act. [Link] Haiti At least eight prisoners died from starvation in a prison in Haiti. [Link] Ukraine President Biden authorized a new $450 million weapons package for Ukraine that includes more High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems, patrol boats, and tactical vehicles. [Link] Ukraine had received the delivery of US-provided rocket systems, known as High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems. [Link] Russian President...
election
News Roundup 6/21/2022
US News President Joe Biden said he is considering a temporary gas tax holiday. The tax reduction would cut gas prices by 18.4 cents per gallon. [Link] Biden said rebate cards are also being considered. [Link] Miami police were offering $50 for handguns, $100 for shotguns and $150 for “high-powered” rifles such as AK-47s or AR-15s in a gun buyback drive. The city says it will transfer the weapons to Ukraine to aid the war effort. [Link] Space X is working with the Department of Defense on a rocket-launched troop movement system that can deploy forces anywhere in the work within hours....
6/17/22 Kevin Gosztola: Julian Assange Extradition Approved by the UK
Download Episode. Kevin Gosztola joined Scott on Antiwar Radio to discuss the most recent developments in the Julian Assange Case. Gosztola presents a primer on who Julian Assange is for those who are unfamiliar with him or who only know of the Collateral Murder video and 2016 election leaks. He then clarifies the charges brought against him. Last week, the UK approved Assange’s extradition to the United States. This is a step in the wrong direction, though it will give Assange’s team the opportunity to appeal and finally present some of their best arguments against his imprisonment. ...
News Roundup 6/20/2022
Colombia Left-wing ex-guerrilla Gustavo Petro won Colombia's presidential election. [Link] Assange Extradition Australia is lobbying the US behind the scenes to secure the freedom of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange. [Link] Russia Ukraine’s Parliament passed two bills that will restrict Russian music and books. If President Volodymyr Zelensky signs the legislation, it will be a significant step forward in Kiev’s attempt to purge the Russian culture. [Link] The Washington Post reports the White House is planning for an extended conflict in Ukraine. Leaders in NATO, the UK and Germany have...
News Roundup 6/17/2022
US News The Senate Armed Services Committee has added $45 billion to President Joe Biden’s military spending plans in its annual defense policy bill. This week’s boost brings the bill’s topline budget figure to $847 billion. [Link] A major bill expanding health care and benefits for veterans exposed to toxic military burn pits in Iraq and Afghanistan passed the US Senate. [Link] The House Homeland Security appropriations subcommittee approved a budget of $2.9 billion for the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), $417 million higher than the White House’s original budget...
Libertarian Solutions to Paleoconservative Problems
Donald Trump entered the political stage as a rejection of all that we have known. His rhetoric was that of America no longer being great, and a promise to bring America back to its roots. He promised to “Make America Great Again.” He created a movement around this idea, yet inevitably embraced the ideas of his political enemies. Trump continued to sell himself to foreign engagements, he banned bump stocks, ramped up the national debt by $7 trillion, and allowed the country to be locked up for months in response to COVID, destroying the economy and dooming the same small businesses he...
Supreme Court Upholds ‘State Secrets’ Privilege to Protect CIA Torture Program
The Supreme Court ruled in March that Americans have no right to learn the grisly details of CIA torture because the CIA has never formally confessed its crimes. The case symbolizes how the rule of law has become little more than legal mumbo-jumbo to shroud official crimes. And it is another grim reminder that Americans cannot rely on politically approved lawyers wearing bat suits to save their freedoms. In 2002, the CIA captured Abu Zubaydah, a Palestinian radical, in Pakistan and falsely believed he was a kingpin with al Qaeda. The CIA tortured him for years in Thailand and Poland. As...
News Roundup 6/12/2022
US News Former Kent Washington Assistant Police Chief Derek Kammerzell will receive more than $1.5 million from the city after being fired for displaying Nazi symbols. [Link] The White House is lifting its requirement that international travelers test negative for COVID-19 within a day before boarding a flight to the US. [Link] The Navy temporarily suspends flight operations. In the last two weeks, there have been five mishaps. [Link] Stockholm International Peace Research Institute says the global nuclear arsenal is expected to grow in the coming years for the first time since the Cold...
Biden Reaffirms Support for Regime Change in Venezuela, But Says US Could ‘Calibrate’ Sanctions
President Joe Biden held a call with Juan Guaido and discussed possible sanctions relief for Venezuela. The White House recognizes Guaido as the country’s interim president, though he holds no power in Caracas. Biden phoned the opposition leader from Air Force One while en route to the Summit of the Americas conference in Los Angeles on Wednesday, with a White House summary of the call stating that the president underscored “the United States’ recognition of and support for the 2015 democratically-elected National Assembly and Guaido as the Interim President of Venezuela.” Guaido first...
News Roundup 6/10/2022
US News Biden asked for an $813 billion military budget, which represents about a 4% increase from the $782 billion that was approved for 2022. Congress wants more, and the Biden administration appears poised to agree. [Link] The FBI arrested Republican Ryan Kelley, a candidate for Michigan governor, on Thursday for misdemeanor charges in connection with the Jan. 6 US Capitol riot. [Link] ICE performed over 1.2 million searches in the LexisNexis database over seven months. LexisNexis was paid $1.7 million. [Link] Biden held a call with Juan Guaido and reaffirmed his support for Gaudio’s...